Introduction
As with all incorporated societies, the NZGS activities are limited by the Incorporated Societies Act and the rules the society adopts for itself.
The Incorporated Societies Act 1908 s6 requires that the rules cover, among other things:
- the society’s objects (aims)
- how a person becomes and stops being a member
- how general meetings are called and held, and how voting is to take place at these meetings
- how the society’s officers are appointed
- the control and investment of the society’s funds, and the society’s powers (if any) to borrow money
- how the rules can be changed.
As well as covering the matters required by the Act, the rules can also include any other provisions, so long as they’re not inconsistent with the Act and other laws.
How our rules can be changed
Our rules are reviewed and updated as required. The rules were last amended at the 2017 AGM. You can find the current rules here.
The process for updating the rules is defined in the rules themselves, and is repeated below:
Alteration to the Rules of the Society may be recommended by a majority vote of an Annual General Meeting or a Special General Meeting. The notice of motion for alteration of the Rules shall be given to the Management Secretary not less than one calendar month prior to the meeting. The Management Committee may, at its discretion, require a ballot of Members to ratify any particular Rule alteration recommended at an Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting.
Our proposals
The current committee has identified some flaws with our rules which make management of the society more complicated or less transparent than it should be. There are also some instances of old-fashioned or confusing wording that we have simplified or brought up-to-date.
Full details of the proposed changes are shown in the following documents:
These proposed changes have been developed and endorsed by the management committee.
Next steps
A vote will be held at the AGM to ratify these changes. This notice has been issued in advance of the AGM in order to give members sufficient time to consider the changes before voting.
